now we are thinking planet of the apes, right? them out us in. yikes. one of these guys through his crap in my face in a zoo and i never liked them since.
Poor fella- makes one wonder- who is caged and who is free? Have a nice weekend, Gail. We are expecting more rain..which I cannot gripe about since we were in a drought five seconds ago.
Chimps, apes, and monkeys are on different endangered species lists. Hard to reckon where they should go..there or here.
The Gorilla part of the San Diego Park is always fascinating, esp. when the silverback has enough of gaping people. Last time he threw massive amounts of excrement at the audience. Amazingly good aim.
Just desserts for them could come, but not likely. So most are resigned to please their captors and visitors. Like this one I found caged in Guatamola: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=asGhCioHqow ..
This takes me back to the scene at the monkey cage in Robert Heinlein's novel "Stranger In A Strange Land" that left a lasting impression on me so many years ago. I understand that animals in captivity teach us about them, and of course they live longer and receive far better care than their wild counterparts, but I still can't help but imagine how much happier they would be to live out their lives as nature intended. I do wonder how we would fare under such daily scrutiny. I can see a cage of humans, spending their hours with smartphones in their hands... oh, wait, that's what we see now! ;-)
Yes it was definitely disconcerting. I looked into her eyes and she looked into mine quickly. They really don't stare for long. I reached over to my 7 year old son and hugged him and kissed his cheek. She really watched me do that.
November 2, 2015 at 10:56 PM
[Image]
Highlands Gorilla at Zoo
[Image]
The gorilla at Memphis zoo
And they call us animals
Those who peer and stare
Making noises to draw attention
To us? or to themselves?
Can you just look?
Leave us where we live
To build a nest every day
Confinement strips us of dignity
A stately beast we quietly adapt
But one day
Hu-mans will stand behind the bars
As we peer and stare and belittle
21 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formThat would be justice! Great poem!
October 30, 2015 at 9:43 AM
Justice for sure and we wouldn't like it either.
October 30, 2015 at 11:47 AM
now we are thinking planet of the apes, right? them out us in. yikes. one of these guys through his crap in my face in a zoo and i never liked them since.
October 30, 2015 at 12:13 PM
Hmmmm. I would much rather they stay there behind the bars, than me! Although it does seem a bit indignant for them.
October 30, 2015 at 12:26 PM
I don't much like zoos for this very reason.
October 30, 2015 at 12:40 PM
Poor fella- makes one wonder- who is caged and who is free? Have a nice weekend, Gail. We are expecting more rain..which I cannot gripe about since we were in a drought five seconds ago.
October 30, 2015 at 1:35 PM
Can you say Rise of the Planet of the Apes?
October 30, 2015 at 2:47 PM
I don't think the apes would ever do that to us... they rather just leave us and be left alone.
October 30, 2015 at 3:16 PM
Oh my, I would not want to be behind the bars. Cute photos!
October 30, 2015 at 3:30 PM
Hmmm. Somewhat disturbing, Gail. But I guess that was your point.
October 30, 2015 at 4:16 PM
Chimps, apes, and monkeys are on different endangered species lists. Hard to reckon where they should go..there or here.
The Gorilla part of the San Diego Park is always fascinating, esp. when the silverback has enough of gaping people. Last time he threw massive amounts of excrement at the audience. Amazingly good aim.
October 30, 2015 at 6:25 PM
What a profound and beautiful poem. My husband once said that nothing is sadder than seeing a gorilla in a zoo.
October 30, 2015 at 6:50 PM
I hope we wise up before then. Animals have feelings ..they grieve, and they love...and much, much more.
October 30, 2015 at 8:42 PM
Just desserts for them could come, but not likely.
So most are resigned to please their captors and visitors. Like this one I found caged in Guatamola:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=asGhCioHqow
..
October 30, 2015 at 11:43 PM
I think I know which ones the animals are! :)
October 31, 2015 at 1:03 AM
I do so often wonder what the animals think when we do stare and point at them at zoos ...?
Good choice of photo's and good words too.
All the best Jan
October 31, 2015 at 11:43 AM
Great poem . . . left me thinking . , .
November 1, 2015 at 7:51 AM
This takes me back to the scene at the monkey cage in Robert Heinlein's novel "Stranger In A Strange Land" that left a lasting impression on me so many years ago. I understand that animals in captivity teach us about them, and of course they live longer and receive far better care than their wild counterparts, but I still can't help but imagine how much happier they would be to live out their lives as nature intended. I do wonder how we would fare under such daily scrutiny. I can see a cage of humans, spending their hours with smartphones in their hands... oh, wait, that's what we see now! ;-)
November 1, 2015 at 5:47 PM
powerful write on that zoo animals.
November 1, 2015 at 9:05 PM
That would certainly serve as justice. We become the caged animals we mocked, confined, abused.
November 2, 2015 at 3:00 PM
Yes it was definitely disconcerting. I looked into her eyes and she looked into mine quickly. They really don't stare for long. I reached over to my 7 year old son and hugged him and kissed his cheek. She really watched me do that.
November 2, 2015 at 10:56 PM